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| The moss families (Bryophyta, Musci) of Britain and Ireland |
Water-mosses.
Gametophyte. Pleurocarpous (?), or cladocarpous; straggling, forming tufts. Primary stems long and irregularly branched. Mature plants sometimes with shoots to as long as 150 cm. The branches in fascicles (sometimes), or not in fascicles. The leaves of main stems and branches similar in form; ovate to lanceolate, or orbicular to ovate; often more or less 3-ranked; nerveless. Leaf blade apices pointed; apically acute. Leaf blade margins flat; entire. The basal leaf cells longitudinally much elongated (narrow); hexagonal, or rhomboidal, or linear; smooth. The walls of basal leaf cells thin; straight. The angular cells clearly differentiated (usually enlarged and forming distinct auricles). The mid-leaf cells mostly narrowly longitudinally much elongated; hexagonal, or rhomboidal, or linear, or linear to vermicular; smooth. The walls of the mid-leaf cells thin; straight.
Sporophyte. Capsules immersed (on rather elongated perichaetial branches), or emergent to exserted, or exserted; erect, or inclined; symmetrical; straight; sub-cylindric to ovoid; without an externally conspicuous apophysis. Calyptra symmetrical; minute, smooth. Capsules with a peristome. The peristome double. The peristome teeth 16 (red); not deeply cleft; not perforated, or perforated; thin, membranous, and transversely barred; exteriorly with a fine longitudinal dividing line between the transverse bars. The inner peristome about equalling the outer; with elongated “processes” (these filiform, and united into a cone via transverse bars); ciliate (as usually interpreted, but the cilia united with the processes). The cilia and processes of the endostome united by transverse strands into a conical lattice. The operculum rostellate, or rostrate. Setae present to absent (the capsule more more less sessile or subsessile); if present, very short; straight.
Ecology. Often amphibious, aquatic and in wet places. Variously in fast-flowing water, on rocks or tree bases subject to submergence, in seepage areas, etc.
Cytology. Haploid chromosome number, n = 10 and 11 (only F. squamosa sampled).
Representation in Britain and Ireland. 2 species (each with several varieties long treated as distinct species). Fontinalis. Northern Scotland, southern Scotland, northern England, English Midlands, East Anglia, Wales, southeast England, central southern England, southwest England, Isle of Wight, and Ireland.
Classification. Class Bryopsida; Subclass Bryideae; Order Hypnales.
Illustrations. • Fontinalis antipyretica, F. dalecarlica, F. seriata and F. squamosa: Dixon. FONTINALACEAE: A, Fontinalis squamosa Hedw. C and D, Fontinalis antipyretica Hedw.; E, Fontinalis squamosa Hedw. var. squamosa; F, Fontinalis squamosa Hedw.; G, Fontinalis squamosa var. dixonii (Cardot) A.J.E. Smith. According to Smith (2004), Dixon was presenting some wrongly identified material from Britain and/or Ireland as the montane, mainland-european F. dalecarlica Bruch et al.
From Dixon and Jameson (1924), the unscaled screen display approximately doubling the magnifications given with their individual figures. 1, leaf, or stem leaf where these differ; 2, branch-leaf; 3, perichaetial leaf; 4, perigonial leaf; 5, capsule; 6, peristome; 7, calyptra; 8, spores; 9, inflorescence; 10, gemmae; 11, paraphyllia; 12, stoma of capsule; *, plant, or part of one. Qualifications: a, apex; b, base; c, cells at one third from the apex; cv, ventral aspect of cells; cd, dorsal aspect of cells; bc, basal cells; x, section. • Fontinalaceae, Cryphaeaeae, Hookeriaceae, etc.: Berkeley. FONTINALACEAE: 1, Fontinalis squamosa Hedw.; a, leaf; 2, capsule and perichaetium; c, detail of part of outer and inner peristome. 2, Fontinalis antipyretica Hedw.; a, leaf; b, leaf cells; c, capsule and perichaetium; d, cayptra; e, capsule with peristome exposed. CRYPHAEACEAE: 3, Cryphaea heteromalla (Hedw.) Mohr; a, leaf; b, leaf cells; c, capsule and perichaetium; d, calyptra. DALTONIACEAE: 4, Daltonia splachnoides (Sm.) Hook. & Tayl.; a, leaf; b, capsule; c, calyptra; d, part of the peristome. HOOKERIACEAE: 5, Hookeria lucens (Hedw.) Smith; a, leaf; b, capsule; c, calyptra; d, part of the peristome. PILOTRICHACEAE: 6, Cyclodictyon laete-virens (Hook. & Tayl.) Mitt.; a, leaf; b, capsule.
From Berkeley (1863). The approximate 1 cm scale added at upper left applies to the whole plant (habit) illustrations only.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M.J. 2005 onwards. The moss families (Bryophyta, Musci) of Britain and Ireland. Version: 5th August 2019. delta-intkey.com’.
